Archive for June, 2008:
Hulk Brawl update
So after finally picking up one of the Hulk Brawl That Shook the World sets, I noticed that every set Toys R Us had out had identical Hulkbusters, and not the black-goggled version shown in Marvel’s boxed version which isn’t totally unusual for Super Hero Squad purposes (see the Venom/Puma 2-pack, Storm’s upside down cape, the Bobby Drake/Iceman costume used in the SHS poster checklist, Kraven) and all the eBay photos I’ve seen have the identical Hulkbusters as well.
Long story short, looks like there’s only two flavors of Hulkbuster after all. Oh well, cannon fodder is cannon fodder.
New Poll: Who do you want next?
You may notice a new poll has been posted. It’s the typical “who do you want next?” style poll, and depending on interest, it may be the first in a series where we take the winners of the request polls and then poll them out.
Anyway, the first four candidates are, in no particular order:
Hercules – Olympian powerhouse, fugitive from mortal law, caretaker of Amadeus Cho the smartest boy on Earth.
Captain Britain – Brilliant scientist, temporal explorer, otherworldly champion, and all around swell guy.
Iron Fist – The latest in a long line of K’un L’un’s champions, this New Avenger was a temporary stand-in for Daredevil during Civil War.
Moon Knight – Khonshu’s fist doesn’t have many super hero friends despite being a registered super hero, former West Coast Avenger and member of the unofficial Marvel Knights team, but would still look nice in your collection.
In choosing these candidates, we chose people that had not been covered already in the “The Case For…” section and that starred in their own current ongoing series. Characters in team books were left out of this poll as were characters who already have figures (I’m looking at you Spider-Man!)
Pictures of Wave 7 posted at Cool Toy Review
Cool Toy Review has posted a few galleries of Wave 7 packs (ie, Spider-Woman, Deadpool, Cable) for those still on the fence about buying them or those that just want to see some cool Super Hero Squad photos.
Toys R Us Coupon Code
For those still waiting to purchase the Hulk: Brawl That Shook the World set, Toys R Us has a coupon available here for $5 off $25. You can visit the site, or just enter 922559 as a coupon code in the check out.
No SHS in Marvel’s September Solicitations
Way back when we reported on MSN’s report on the Super Hero Squad video game. We had some questions about the reporting, notably when it said “Marvel Comics is now featuring Marvel Super Hero Squad comic strips within several of its all ages books and will be introducing a dedicated Marvel Super Hero Squad comic book series in fall 2008.”
The problem? Marvel doesn’t feature Super Hero Squad comic strips anywhere, but does reprint some Mini-Marvels strips in the Marvel Adventures line, and nobody else referred to a dedicated comic book. The closest anyone came to was Hollywood Reporter’s claim that there’s an upcoming “book series” for the fall (Hollywood Reporter just says “the fall” while MSN said “Fall 2008″).
Because of that report, we’ve been eagerly awaiting Marvel’s Solicitations for any of the fall months. The bad news? September has come and gone without any sign of the Squad.
But of course we’ll keep looking.
A HA! An answer to the cancelled Hulk Wave 2 orders!
If you know many Super Hero Squad collectors or visit some of the collector boards, you’ve probably heard at least a few stories of people whose orders have been canceled by Hasbro. We even covered the phenomena here but we’ve done a little more digging.
First contact with the Hasbro Customer Service representatives was actually very helpful. Apparently, when Hasbro learned that Hulk Wave 2 date was going to be pushed back, they sent out an e-mail notifying people of the delay and informing them that if they are still interested in receiving the figures, they need to contact Hasbro to let them know. Those that did not respond to Hasbro had their orders canceled while Hasbro moved to a new computer system.
So after some digging, I found a copy of the e-mail they send. They do indeed include the line “IF YOU ARE WILLING TO WAIT UNTIL THE DATE(S) INDICATED ABOVE TO RECEIVE YOUR ORDER, YOU MUST CONTACT US TO CONFIRM THAT YOU STILL WANT THE ITEM(S). IF WE DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU, THE ITEM(S) WILL NOT BE SHIPPED, AND YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED FOR THEM.”
But it’s at the very end of the e-mail. People who only read the first portion of the e-mail will only be informed that:
“RESPONSE REQUIRED TO RECEIVE YOUR ORDER. Due to high demand, the following item(s) you ordered are still backordered. Please note the revised availability of the items below:”
“ITEM(S) NOT YET SHIPPED
Item number: 78421
Item name: Marvel Super Hero Squad – Hulk and Absorbing Man
Quantity: 1
Estimated ship date: 6/12/2008″
And that is why people who ordered back on May 4th when they were first made available had to re-order their figures, while others who ordered figures weeks later have their figures.
But lets throw some salt on those wounds. The notice that the figures were on back-order and would be canceled without response was dated 5/13/08. The notification that the orders were canceled was dated 6/17/08. The first batch of figures actually started shipping on 6/12/08 (at least according to the people I’ve talked to.) If Hasbro had canceled the orders earlier, those individuals would have been able to place their orders again and would have been shipped their figures. Instead, Hasbro didn’t canceled the orders well after the figures had started shipping!
Now, to throw further salt in the wounds… after those people were given an e-mail saying their orders were canceled, they couldn’t place the order again because the website was undergoing an upgrade. And after placing their orders, which have been “expected to ship within 1 business day” since June 17 when they were back online the ship-date for these “in-stock” items keeps being pushed back. Users who ordered an in-stock, ships-in-one-day item on the 17th are still waiting for the item to be shipped on the 20th.
In talking to a Hasbro rep about the shipping delay, the only answer we could get was “we’re a little behind right now.”
So, in the spirit of constructive criticism, we’re offering suggestions to Hasbro for future situations like this:
1) Be like Amazon! While approval is still required to keep the items “on order”, they inform you that your item will still be shipped if they receive it prior to a certain deadline. Their exact language is “If we are able to get the items before _______________ 2008, we will ship them to you.” Here, many people had canceled orders only after the items had been in stock and started shipping.
2) Provide multiple-access points for the information. Those affected by this situation were told of the situation via e-mail, which is fine but in today’s world of junk mail filters, multiple sources of information helps. Those that simply sign on to Hasbro for their order status were only told their order was “back-ordered” which is exactly what it says for future-shipping items, like the City in Crisis and Iron Man Wave 2 sets originally scheduled to ship late summer. A notice that response was required in their order status may have been helpful!
3) Upgraded shipping! While automatic upgraded shipping for all items shipping past the estimated one business day would be too costly, how about free upgrades for people who order an “in-stock” item that hasn’t been shipped within 5 days? Or a coupon code/discount card for people facing similar delays?
So if you’ve been waiting for almost 2 months for an “in stock order”, and then your order was canceled, now you know what happened! Go back, place your order, and… uhm… continue waiting because while it’s “in stock” there’s still apparently some shipping delays.
More SHS Shopping Help
First off, Big Bad Toy Store has some not-so-bad deals on the Hulk Wave 2 Wolverine/Hulk pack and Super Hero Squad Wave 2 Daredevil/Elektra (both for $2.99) but be warned… shipping may be more than you’d expect.
Secondly, Hasbro’s Summer Savings Sale has the Collector’s Pack for $15.99, Angel/Colossus, Daredevil/Elektra, Cyclops/Magneto, and Captain America/Hawkeye for $3.99, and best of all, Beast/Apocalypse and Ultimate Iron Man/Ultimate Giant Man for $3.99 which is a 60% discount.
Happy shopping!
